[Kimetsu no Yaiba - Changes of Fate] is a Fanfiction in which Tanjiro declined Saburo's offer to sleep at his place during that night, and the events that follow.
This is my first Fanfiction, and may show signs of sloppy writing.
This chapter has been rewritten a total of 2 times.
It was the fateful day, the day Tanjiro went out to sell Charcoal, the day we are all just a bit too familiar with, he went out, sold out, slept with old man Saburo, and returned home to find his family utterly slaughtered, and to discover that his sister became a Demon, the start of a frantic journey.
Except here, that didn't happen.
"Hey, Tanjiro!"
He heard a man yell, as he was about to walk his way up the mountain.
"You aren't going back up the mountain, are you? It's too dangerous!"
The young boy whipped around, to face the old man, it was Saburo, a well known family friend, Tanjiro had slept at his house a few times, afterall.
"I've got a good nose for trouble, I'll be fine." Tanjiro exclaimed.
"You can stay here, please. Come back." Said Saburo, almost as if he was pleading with Tanjiro not to go.
That was certainly a strange sight, but Tanjiro knew Saburo was probably just trying to look out for Tanjiro in his own way, Tanjiro smiled at Saburo while considering his options.
His family was likely waiting for him, he was already late, afterall, but Saburo seemed to worry for Tanjiro's safety…
But, family goes first, that's always been the case for Tanjiro, he was the eldest son afterall.
So, Tanjiro turned back to face the mountain, waving to Saburo with a smile that screamed Don't worry, I'll be fine!
"Sorry, Saburo!" Tanjiro said finally. "But family goes first!" Halfway through saying that, Tanjiro had already begun running up the mountain.
And as if on cue, the wind blew harsh.
Drowning out the cries of the old man.
. . .
Tanjiro was patiently walking up the mountain as he hummed to himself, giving himself a little praise for today, "I managed to sell out completely today, and even managed to help some people with their chores, all in all a productive day!", with that in his head he continued the journey back home, Tanjiro always had an unnaturally keen nose and he could even pick up emotions through scent alone, it was something that the Villagers knew about him and Tanjiro usually gets asked to sniff things for one reason or another, like today when someone was accused of smashing a vase, only for him to smell cat all over the shards.
Speaking of smell, a completely foreign smell began to enter Tanjiro's nose as he walked, he gave it a few good sniffs to try and catch the scent better, only for him to gag.
This smell was rotten to say the least, it reeked of malice, pure unfiltered evil, Tanjiro had already begun to breathe a bit more heavily after gagging from that smell and it only caused the smell to reach his nostrils more and more, he felt like he could puke at any moment just from the presence alone, only to soon realize that the origin of the smell was coming right for him, Tanjiro immediately turned tail and attempted to flee, old man Saburo was right, it was dangerous, Tanjiro didn't get very far before he felt something strong and blunt hit him in the back, sending him barreling into a tree and causing him to let out a heavy pained grunt, his basket had fallen off of his shoulders simply because the attack shredded the basket in one go, a few pieces of it strewn close to Tanjiro.
Tanjiro fixed his position, sitting against the tree as he looked up and saw the source of that horrific stench, a man dressed in a black western suit, wearing a white fedora, was now standing in front of him.
He spoke.
"Is this really what his descendant has been reduced to? I should have known there was nothing to fear…", the man's voice had an undertone of rage to it, Tanjiro couldn't smell the man's emotions simply because of the stench he emitted that caused Tanjiro to hold back some vomit in his throat as he looked up at the man, the man crouched down infront of Tanjiro and held up an index finger infront of his mouth as if to shush Tanjiro, Tanjiro didn't want to shush, he wanted to scream at the top of his lungs, but fear paralyzed him, raw horror as he stared at the man's plum red eyes that radiated that same sense of malice that gave his stench such a terrible nature, "I guess it won't hurt to repeat what I did to his brother, let's see you come after me when you are the very thing you are ment to destroy.", the man's fingernail grew and changed color, he held it up to Tanjiro's forehead, and at that moment something clicked, Tanjiro screamed at the top of his lungs, an agonized sound forced out of his throat, if only for just a second, before the world went black.
. . .
. . .
. . .
Hunger, it was a simple feeling but one that had driven many species in the fight for survival, and this boy that found himself laying face-first in the snow with his backside raised up a little, found himself suddenly at the mercy of that feeling, it felt like at any moment his belly would sprout a mouth and begin devouring anything in the vicinity, so he got up, and looked around, he flinched when the feeling of hunger swelled again.
"I get it, I get it, I'm hungry, but I don't have any food with me!"
He collected himself and got up, still wobbling on his feet as he felt rather exhausted, and suddenly his body irked him to walk up the mountain, he looked at the dense forest ahead with confusion before complying.
The walk was agonizingly slow, he had expended much energy on god knows what had caused him to lay on the ground in such a fashion, and the new sensation of intense hunger only made the trip worse, if possible he'd eat himself but he figured that that wouldn't really do anything, something in him just told him that biting at himself was futile.
While walking his nose kept getting filled with scent after scent, but he wasn't interested in any of them, he ignored them, until one smell reached his nose and cause him to salivate heavily, it smelled good, inviting, refreshing, sweet even, then he realized the reason his body irked him up the mountain, something in him told him he was going to expect this smell and find the source, and find the source he did as on the mountain he eventually found a house neatly sat in a clearing, the closer he got the stronger the smell, the corners of his mouth crooked up and his jaw dropped a bit as he imagined himself eating away at whatever was the source of this amazing smell, he approached the front door and tried to open it before it slid open infront of him.
. . .
"Onii-chan is late today." Takeo said as he was slurping his food, "He probably got caught doing chores again in the village." Joked Nezuko, but it irked her a little, the fact her brother wasn't home yet felt strange, she felt like something was off about him not coming for dinner today, it happened a few times before but those times Nezuko felt like Tanjiro would be safe, and she'd probably see him the next day as she woke up.
Food was eaten and laughs were shared, the Kamado Residence soon went dark and everyone went to bed, but Nezuko couldn't sleep, she couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong.
She eventually got up that night and wandered the house staring at the front door, she eventually decided to open it and as she approached she could hear the sound of snow under someone's foot, she opened the door with haste and there he stood.
. . .
There stood a girl, her expression read of shock before shifting into relief, and he realized why the smell was so pleasant, it was the smell of something tasty, human flesh.
"Onii-chan! You're ba - !?", She began to talk, he didn't bother to listen, he opened his mouth and readied his claws, gripping the arms of the girl and firmly biting into her shoulder, he felt his energy return to him as the sweet taste of blood fell through his throat, he had secured food.
Food, feast, consume, maim, shred, eat, eat, eat, EAT, EAT, EAT, EAT, EAT, EAT, EAT.
He began to, his teeth bore deeper into her shoulder, more and more blood dripped into his mouth and his energy returned more and more.
She struggled, gasped as her breathing became erratic, she looked at me, I could tell she was looking at me, she spoke again, "O-Onii-chan! It- It hurts…!"
Something in him responded to that, it made him feel strange, like something was up with this girl but he couldn't place what it was, his grips loosened as he thought about what it could be and then suddenly felt something hit him in the gut, he looked down and saw a young boy with an axe, having used the axe's handle to violently poke him in said gut, repeatedly.
"Onii-chan, please stop! You're hurting Nezuko!", he was crying and looked like he was afraid, but he was an annoyance so he was quickly dealt with with a kick, he glared at him from over the girl's shoulder and then his eyes caught onto something, a family, they looked like they had just gotten out of bed, the mother looked fearful, there was an attempt to sniff out her emotions, something in him knew he could do that, and felt the smell of fear, worry, slight relief, and love coming from her, it made him loosen him grip even more, to the point his arms let go of the girl.
Why did eating suddenly feel so strange, so wrong, like something in him knew he was doing something wrong, but he wasn't, right? Everyone wants to eat, some people love eating, and everyone loves eating with their family, right?
...Family, why did his mind wander off to that.
To his shock the girl suddenly hugged him, she began to frantically cry while she had her arms wrapped around him, he began to struggle, what was she planning!?
Through her frantic crying she managed to spill a few words, "Onii-chan… don't worry… you- you're safe… you're home… you're confused, please, you're okay."
…"Onii-chan.", that's what you call an older brother, right? Was this girl his little sister?
If that were the case, why can't he remember them, something in his mind is still irking him about them but he just can't place his finger on it, and now the mother speaking really caught him offguard, "Tanjiro, what's wrong, dear?"
A name, was she addressing him? Was that his name, Tanjiro?
His nose caught a whiff of something new, something foreign, but his body told him it was bad, he suddenly found himself letting go with his teeth and pushing the girl to the ground, the sound of wood splintering was audible, he pushed the girl away, got up, and looked at the source of the smell, the sound.
What confronted him were a pair of dull blue eyes framed in an aloof expression, his eyes bounced around the man trying to figure out who or what he was and his eyes settled on something, a sword, his body was yelling at him that that sword specifically was bad news, and considering the way it was still half-stuck in the doorframe like it had just been swung made him a bit afraid, then he realized something, that sword was going right for his neck, if he hadn't pushed the girl to the ground he would've had his head lopped off.
Fear morphed into horror, sheer horror at the thought of having his head lopped off, the fact this man made an attempt to kill him, he fell to the ground as he found his legs giving up on him, he shook, and then something in his mind clicked, that sense of horror caused a murky memory to resurface and attached to it were many other.
..."Onii-chan"..."Tanjiro"... Family.
It shot through his head like some kind of tsunami, memories, many of them half fuzzied and many drowned out entirely, he felt like his head was going to burst.
Tanjiro, Kamado Tanjiro, that's who I am, and I just tried to eat my younger sister.
The mix of emotions that his face morphed into as some horrific animalistic sound that brought a sensation of fear with it escaped from his mouth.
. . .
Tomioka Giyu had been chasing a Demon around that had been terrorizing the a village for a while now, he found a pair of footsteps in the snow that led up the mountain and with his lack of any clues on the Demon's whereabouts he figured he might aswell follow them, it would either lead him right to the Demon or lead him to a residence, and if it was a residence he figured he'd ask the people inside if they saw anything.
Instead, it lead to both, a Demon was standing in the open doorway of the house firmly latched onto a girl, he readied his swing as he approached and struck, but the Demon rolled under the attack and had pinned the girl, he fully expected the Demon to lash out at him in an attempt to secure his meal but instead the Demon pushed the girl away and stood up, taking a defensive stance before it realized Giyu wasn't unarmed, he fell to the ground that really made him look like he was terrified, he was shaking even and his expression looked like it was about to explode with horror, and it did, the Demon let out some pained horrified sounds, but a Demon is a Demon, and it was his job to kill them.
He readied his Nichirin Blade and was already mid-swing before he stopped, the girl the Demon had latched onto was now trying to drag him away from harm, "What are you doing, girl?" Giyu asked as he couldn't understand the scene infront of him, "Wh-who are you!? Why are you trying to kill Onii-chan?" she told him.
"You call that thing your brother? That is a Demon, a man-eating monster, if I don't kill it it will just escape and hurt more people."
. . .
Demon? Tanjiro a Demon? Nezuko didn't know what to do with that information, Demon's weren't real right? And besides, Tanjiro had been a human all his life.
"Yo-you-you're mistaken!" She said, "Tanjiro has always been a Human!", "It's simple then." The man said as he pointed his sword at Tanjiro, "Your brother got exposed to Demon blood and has become one."
. . .
"Don't cry, don't despair." he thought as he stared at the girl tugging at the Demon, "So your brother got turned into a Demon, I know it must be hard to come to terms with that, but there is no saving him."
As if on cue, something shocked him, the Demon reached for the girl who's shoulder was still bleeding, "Shit, he's going to devour her!", Giyu raised the sword and readied to jump at the Demon, but the Demon instead clung to the girl, as if trying to embrace her aid, he was still clearly terrified, must be a fight or fling response, Giyu moved quickly, snatching the Demon by the collar of his clothes and dragged him closer, "No!" the girl cried out.
Someone else approached him, a woman.
"Please, I believe this is a misunderstanding." She began, "Tanjiro is such a sweet child, he would never hurt anyone, please let him go."
"Lady, I said it before but he's a man-eating Demon now, he will kill and devour even his own family once starved.", he tightened his grip, the Demon was trying to break loose, he was eyeing the woman, the Demon was clearly ready to pounce on her, Giyu moved his sword without saying a word and readied himself for the third time to kill the Demon, and was stopped again as one of the children in the house walked up to the Demon, tugging his hand slightly, the Demon seemed to calm down and looked at the young girl, his hand gently clasping around the girl's hand, she spoke. "Onii-chan, weren't you going to be away for a day? Is this going to be goodbye?"
"Away for a day? Has this kid really only been a Demon for a day? Maybe even less."
Giyu's eyes widened, the Demon had begun to cry, tears rolled down his cheeks as he held the little girl's hand, Giyu decided to risk it, he let go of the Demon, it took him a few seconds before letting go of the little girl's hand and he walked over to the woman, firmly embracing her in a hug followed by the Demon viciously bawling his eyes out.
. . .
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry for what I did, please, I failed, I failed to protect you, I attacked Nezuko, if I'm really some man-eating monster, I deserve to die, please!" were Tanjiro's mental pleads as he held firmly onto his mother, she returned the hug, it felt warm but wrong, the smell of human so close to him struck his hunger at the core, but he resisted it, there was no way he was going to attack his family a second time.
. . .
"I remember hearing that Demons regained their humanity as they were dying, is it possible this one regained it just now…? If I kill him I'll just tear this family apart, I'll have to give him a chance."
"Hey, you." Giyu said, addressing no one in particular, the family looked at him from their positions, it looked like a mess, "I don't really know what to do with you anymore, there isn't protocol for these kind of situations, so I'll tell you this, go seek out an old man called Urokodaki Sakonji who lives at the foot of Mount Sagiri, tell him Tomioka Giyu sent you, he might know what to do with you.", Giyu felt wrong for sparing a Demon, but the way he was crying in the embrace of who presumably must be his mother was something human, as he stared at the family for a bit contemplating his choice, he turned around, and vanished, leaving the family alone.
Writing what I now like to call the 'beta version' of this Fic really taught me how to write, so I plan on rewriting a few more chapters.